The European Commission is withdrawing a directive aimed at combating companies' attempts at so-called greenwashing - that is, marketing products as more sustainable than they actually are. This was announced by a spokesperson for the European Commission at a press conference on Friday.
The directive has the English title "green claims". The withdrawal takes place shortly before the proposal is to go through the final round of negotiations between the member states and the European Parliament. The Commission will not state why it has chosen to withdraw the proposal.
The Commission also does not want to state why the withdrawal is taking place shortly before the final round of negotiations is expected to begin.
On Wednesday, the media outlet Politico revealed that the civil society group in the European Parliament, the EPP, had sent a letter to Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall, in which the group asked the Commission to withdraw the proposal.
At the same time, the EPP group threatened not to support the outcome of the negotiations. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has her political position in the EPP group. In rare cases, the Commission can withdraw proposals for directives, writes Politico.
This usually only happens if the co-legislators, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, cannot agree at the negotiating table, or if the Commission is of the opinion that the new compromise is too far from the original proposal.
The directive is about making product labels more uniform across the EU. This should lead to more transparency for the consumer and more level playing field for companies. According to SME Denmark, it is a good thing that the directive is being scrapped and that the Commission has listened to the concerns of companies.
- The intention behind the directive is right, but the directive in its current form has been far too complex and cumbersome. Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, says Jesper Beinov, director of SME Denmark.
Beinov believes that many companies want to highlight their sustainable initiatives.
- But they can't do that when they are faced with requirements that in practice require both legal and audit assistance to make a green statement. This stifles initiative and in practice hinders the green transition.
/ritzau/
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